Review: Cheers to the Publican by Paul Kahan

Title: Cheers to the Publican, Repast and Present: Recipes and Ramblings from an American Beer Hall
Author: Paul Kahan
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: September 19th 2017
Source: Publisher/Netgalley


Book Description:

The highly anticipated narrative-rich cookbook by Chicago's superstar chef, Paul Kahan, whose destination restaurant, The Publican, is known for its incredibly delicious pork- and seafood-centric, beer-friendly cooking.

The Publican, often named one of Chicago's most popular restaurants, conjures a colonial American beer hall with its massive communal tables, high-backed chairs, deep beer list, and Kahan's hallmark style of crave-worthy heartland cooking that transcends the expected and is eminently cookable. Cheers to The Publican is Paul Kahan's and Executive Chef Cosmo Goss's toast to the food they love to make and share, the characters who produce the ingredients that inspire them, and the other cooks they honor. Larded with rich story-telling and featuring more than 150 evocative photographs and 150 recipes for vegetables and salads, fish and seafood, meat, simple charcuterie, and breads and spreads, Cheers to The Publican is sure to be one of the most talked-about and cooked-from cookbooks of the year.

Review:

★★★★★

I was super excited to get my hands on a copy of this book. Though I haven't gotten a chance to dine there yet (unfortunately :( ), Publican is a well known Chicago establishment. I'm in the neighborhood all the time, and I am happy to have gotten a peak behind closed ovens with this cookbook.

The book is divided into sections by ingredient: vegetables, shellfish, fish, meat, charcuterie and sausages, offal, and breads and spreads.

There are a LOT of photos in this book, which is a huge plus for me. And not only are there a lot of them, but the ones that are in there are gorgeous. There's also a lot of personal stories, and background information about the restaurant and the people behind it. Sure, it's gorgeous to flip through the pictures, but I really enjoyed reading the non-recipe information. It has a warm, welcoming tone that shows the passion for ingredients and cooking as a whole, which then comes across well in the recipes.

The recipes are a bit complicated with lots of components, but the steps are well written and to the point.

Some of the dishes that I'm most excited to try from this cookbook include Dry Aged Duck Breast with Pumpkin Seed Vinaigrette, Pork Country Ribs with Watermelon and Sungold Salad, and Blood Pasta with Sea Beans, Fava Beans, and Mussels

This is a great book for someone looking to be a bit more upscaled at home, prepare for a date night, or who is big into the culinary scene in Chicago.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Cookie Love by Mindy Segal

Title: Cookie Love: 60 Recipes and Techniques for Turning the Ordinary into the Extraordinary
Author: Mindy Segal
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: April 7th 2015
Source: Ten Speed Press

Description:

A new, edgier take on baking cookies, from a James Beard Award-winning chef and the owner of the popular Chicago restaurant, HotChocolate.

Mindy Segal is an up-and-coming chef and baker who's serious about cookies and bars. In her first cookbook, Segal turns classic recipes into more elevated, fun interpretations of everyone's favorite sweet treat. From Brown Butter with Hickory Smoked Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies and Crème de Violet Snickerdoodles, to Citrus, Brown Butter, and Graham Cracker Shortbread with Framboise Preserves and Hibiscus Sugar Rugelach, Segal's recipes are inspired and far from expected. This modern twist on a traditional favorite is the perfect addition to every baker's bookshelf.

★★★★★

Review:

I have quite a sweet tooth, so I'm always looking for recipes that will cater to that. And then I saw that author Mindy Segal is the owner of the Chicago restaurant HotChocolate, and I was sold. I haven't gotten to go there yet, but it's on my list for when I'm back home in Chicago for school. From one Chicagoan to another I had to get this copy, and I'm so glad I did. This is an amazing tome of cookies that is sure to have something for everyone.

You can tell that this book comes from a place of passion, as each recipe and chapter is full of personal stories and reasons for why each cookie is included in the collection. The recipes are sorted by type of cookie, which is handy if you're looking for a particular recipe or occasion to bake for (as if one needs an occasion other than hey, I want cookies). There are nice tips and techniques for each recipe, so even beginners can start baking! There's also a section at the end of the book reserved for needed equipment, what you should have on hand, resources, tricks, and conversions, so there's plenty of help and citation to help you through the recipes.

The recipes themselves are a great collection of complex and simple. From the standard favorite chocolate chip cookie, to more complicated filled cookies, there's a nice balance in the flavor profiles and complexity level. There are also tons of pictures that are really well done, and almost every single recipe has a photo to correspond with it. This is a huge help to me, because the more pictures of the finished products that a cookbook has, the more likely I am to return to the book in the future.

This girl gets a special shout out, because she is the only chef that I have ever read who has included kolachkes in their cookbook, let alone a whole chapter of them. Being from a big Polish family from the south side of Chicago, kolachkes are one of my favorites and they're eaten on holidays and special occasions. Because they're a bit of a pain to make, in my house they're a special treat and one of my absolute favorites. I loved Segal's unique rethinking on a local classic, and I can't wait to make them all.

In addition to the recipes on how to make cookies, there are also recipes for how to make sauces, jams, and even jimmies. I put sprinkles on pretty much everything, so I'm really excited to make my own! These additional recipes ensure that your cookies are made from scratch with love from the very get-go.

There are no recipes in this book that I wouldn't love to settle down with a nice big plate of alongside a big ole glass of milk. That being said, the ones that I'm most excited to bake include Kumquat Marmalade Kolachkes with Blackberries and Black Pepper, Smoked Almond Shortbread with Orange Blossom and Raspberry Framboise, and Lemon Goat-Butter Tea Cakes.

I recommend this book to both beginners and masters, as there's recipes in here for everyone. The directions are clear and concise, the recipes are awesome, and the photography is mouthwatering.

I was provided a copy of this cookbook in exchange for my honest review.

#31DaysofReading Book Review: Bleed Like Me by Christa Desir!

Title: Bleed Like Me
Author: Christa Desir
Format: ebook
Pub. Date: October 7th 2014
Source: SimonPulse via PulseIt #31daysofreading

Description via Goodreads:

From the author of Fault Line comes an edgy and heartbreaking novel about two self-destructive teens in a Sid and Nancy-like romance full of passion, chaos, and dyed hair.

Seventeen-year-old Amelia Gannon (just "Gannon" to her friends) is invisible to almost everyone in her life. To her parents, to her teachers-even her best friend, who is more interested in bumming cigarettes than bonding. Some days the only way Gannon knows she is real is by carving bloody lines into the flesh of her stomach.

Then she meets Michael Brooks, and for the first time, she feels like she is being seen to the core of her being. Obnoxious, controlling, damaged, and addictive, he inserts himself into her life until all her scars are exposed. Each moment together is a passionate, painful relief.

But as the relationship deepens, Gannon starts to feel as if she's standing at the foot of a dam about to burst. She's given up everything and everyone in her life for him, but somehow nothing is enough for Brooks-until he poses the ultimate test.

Bleed Like Me is a piercing, intimate portrayal of the danger of a love so obsessive it becomes its own biggest threat.

★★★

This is another book that I'm honestly not quite sure how I feel about, let alone how to rate it. I waited a few days before writing this review to let the book sink in, but I'm still torn. This wasn't a bad book, not by a long shot. But I also had a lot of issues with it. I've decided to level it out at a neutral rating of three stars.

The lead character, Gannon, was somehow simultaneously easy and impossible to relate with. On the one hand, she is one of the "punk/goth" girls, and I was one in high school too. I got the whole hanging out at the skate park, smoking, and chilling at Punkin' Donuts. That's all stuff I've done. I really liked too that this story is set in Chicago. This is where I'm from, and it's always nice to read a familiar setting. This will get a little dark for a moment, but I also related to this character because she is a cutter. While I do not have this issue anymore, it is something that I have done in the past. I will say that out of all the books with cutting characters that I've read, Desir has most accurately described the addiction, the satisfaction, the relief, and honestly, the clean up. You'd be surprised how many books don't mention that cutting involves, you know, blood. It may set a darker tone, but at least it's more descriptive and more accurate. On the other hand, I really didn't like how judgmental she was. She judges her family, her "best friend", said friend's romantic interest, the boy who will eventually become her boyfriend. It all seemed a bit overly unpleasant and harsh. Especially coming from someone from an alternative background- normally the most understanding of them all. I also didn't like how she kept saying how she didn't know anything about him and wouldn't sleep with him because of that and didn't want to be too attached... But then does drugs because of him and waits a month for him because he told her to.

I also found it a bit strange that she constantly complains that her parents ignore her and that she's invisible, lost in the chaos of her brothers. But when she gets serious with Brooks, they just tell her to make smart choices. Her dad comes in to give her a "talk", and gives her a box of condoms. She calls this an awkward nightmare.... But he's finally being caring and giving an effort to be in her life. This point is neither positive or negative to the reading experience, I just found it odd.

Which brings me to Brooks, the love interest. He's another character I both loved and hated. I'm not sure how Desir managed to get me to feel so strongly in opposing directions for her characters. On one hand he's pierced and tattooed with dyed bright hair and that's delicious. He's impulsive and broody and weirdly charming. But his past is dark and quickly that changes, and he becomes paranoid and controlling and not very nice. Their romance starts off quirky and oddly sweet. My favorite part is a bit morbid but, he doesn't want her to cut anymore, but she needs the pain, so he digs his fingers along her healing skin, tearing open old wounds. This is dark and toxic and surely unhealthy... But sweet, in a broken kind of way. They're explosive and dangerous together... But you can't help but want to watch the show.

Another issue I had was Gannon's family. She feels bitter towards most of them, understandably so. They were a happy family of three, until they adopted three boys from Guatemala. Her dad largely hides from his responsibilty because they're terrors. The mom babies them and doesn't want to be the disciplinarian ever because they had enough of a hard life in their home country. She lets them get away with murder- literally. They murder a kitten with absolutely zero consequences. She doesn't deserve to keep them honestly. I don't care if it was my kid, I'd call someone. A psychologist, a doctor, a member of the police force. But no, they have dinner like nothing happened because the mom is just happy they're eating. A week later, they actually go to the movies because they behaved for a week since the kitten incident. Nope. Nope. She says at some point that she can't just give them back. You can, actually, and at this rate they deserve to go a better home. They also leave all three kids with Gannon overnight. They can't handle them as adults- what the hell makes you think a kid can?

That said, I give Desir points for diversity. There were a bunch of different types of people represented here and that's a nice change of pace.

And then there's the ending... It's emotional but disappointing. I wasn't left wondering what happened... I was left wondering why I stuck around to finish it.

I know I've said a lot of negative things about this book.... But still I can't help but focus on the way Desir gets in depth about the gritty realism, the descriptions of cutting and the pressures in their lives. It's well detailed and well written and it's easy to get swept into the intense storm that is their relationship. It's a book that'll stay with me in ways I can't quite comprehend.

I recommend it to mature young adult fans who enjoy a darker side of contemporary romance. Be warned this book contains sex, vulgar language, drugs, alcohol, and self harm. Thanks to Simon Teen/Pulse It for the chance to read it.

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent (Divergent #1)
Author: Veronica Roth
Format: Paperback, 487 pages
Pub. Date: April 25th 2011
Source: The Babbling Reader blog

★★★★★

Five stars.

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In dystopian Chicago, the population has been divided into five factions. For each sixteen year old, the choice is a life changing one: you can choose which faction in which you will serve and live for the rest of your life. There's an administered test that guides your answer- but it doesn't work on Beatrice. This is more dangerous than it seems, and Beatrice must decide who she really is, what she will fight for, and what she holds most dear in order to save not just her skin, but the lives of others.

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I don't know why I waited so long to read this book. I've been hearing about it for what seems like lifetimes on various book blogs I follow. I was a little hesitant to read it, since so many people loved it. I didn't want to be disappointed, and I definitely wasn't.

I think what I loved the most was the setting. Being a Chicago girl, of course I was excited when street names and landmarks that I'm familiar with were integrated into the story line. But it gave the book a scarier, more "true dystopian" feel for me as well. It was unnerving to think about my beautiful city becoming such a thing, and the haunting tone that Roth writes into the story definitely stayed with me after I put the book down. I love the society and technology that she created within this series.

The spacing and pace were also better than expected. I didn't find any lulls or times where I was bored or wanted to stop reading. I started this book on a train from Chicago to southern Illinois, and I was finished before I was at my destination. I didn't want to put it down.

I loved the characters, and I love the Dauntless. It's more often than not that I dislike female leads, but the struggles that Tris faced- both mental and physical- amazed me, and I was cheering her on from cover to cover. Not to mention Four. I was really emotionally invested in their lives, hating some and loving others.

I am SO glad that I picked this up (finally) and now I'm dying to read the rest of the trilogy, and to see the movie too. I recommend this for fans of YA dystopian books with a touch of romance: people who liked Matched, The Hunger Games, or Swans & Klons- this means you!

Thank you to The Babbling Reader blog for my copy.

Review: The Ghosts of Chicago

Title: The Ghosts of Chicago: The Windy City's Most Famous Haunts
Author: Adam Selzer
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: September 8th 2013
Source: Netgalley/Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd

★★★★

Rounded up to four stars.

It's no secret to most Americans that Chicago has a dark past. From dangerous mills and factories to housing projects and camps, to the long history of political corruption and gangsters, Chicago's past is heavily tangled with murder and strange deaths. Every building has a story, and Adam Selzer gives a tour of a wide variety of haunted places in the Chicago area.

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This book is broken into chapters by location. The author provides deep, well-researched histories to the ghosts (or of those that the ghost is rumored to be), as well as a summation of ghost sightings. What I really like about Adam Selzer's book is that he gives addresses and locations of the sites that he mentions. If a building isn't there any more, then he tries his best to describe where it used to be, so that interested hunters may seek it out. He takes it a step further, telling the reader just how likely the owners or staff are to talk about the hauntings. If an owner hates ghost hunters, the author is sure to warn you of that fact (Selzer also warns you if a neighborhood isn't really safe to wander).

This book is rich in Chicago history, and as a native Chicagoan I was kind of surprised how few of these stories I knew. A few more famous legends included in this book are that of H.H. Holmes and The Eastland disaster. Then there are lesser known stories, such as a local tattoo parlor and a well known high rise. And of course, there's plenty of cemeteries to go 'round!

It was no surprise to me when I learned that Adam Selzer was a tour guide. The book is written with a sense of humor and a certain upbeat, passionate attitude. I also appreciated that he was quick to say that no evidence is concrete, and that no story is 100% truthful. I have been on ghost tours in other cities where guides swear by the ghosts/sightings, and it admittedly made me not believe them. If Adam somehow gets a chance to read this review, this suburban girl is happy to blog about a tour too, if invited! (Joking.) [Mostly.]

I recommend this book to those interested in paranormal activity or murder stories, anyone from Chicago, or anyone planning to go to Chicago. I feel that this book is a great companion to anyone wanting to check out some history without the help of a guide, though with his humor, I'd recommend checking out his tour company too.

Thank you to Netgalley and Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. for my copy of this book.